“There’s a lot of excitement going on in the 200. Obviously, I have the energy. Obviously, I have the motivation. I don’t plan to lose. I plan to go out there full force, you know, jump off the cliff, so to speak, with all enthusiasm into this race.” This was Noah Lyles after losing his 100m gold to Oblique Seville. The 200m World Champion has his eyes on not losing that tag, and he has started pretty well. 19.99 in the Heat 4 for the win, the only sub-20 of that race is not bad at all until you realize that is only the 5th fastest time of all the heats. Does this affect his lane? Yes, it does.

Lyles is scheduled to go up against Andre De Grasse, Zharnel Hughes, Jamaica’s Adrian Kerr, and others in the 3rd semifinals of the 200m at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships. The names are not a challenge here; Hughes was second in 20.07s, and De Grasse fourth in 20.30s in the very same heat that the 28-year-old won. Things get tough for the Olympic gold medalist as he has been allotted the 7th lane. The British sprinter will be right next to him in lane 6, while the Canadian takes the 2nd.

Lane 7 is tough. First, the stagger start makes you look far ahead of everyone else on the curve; you can’t actually see most of your rivals until the final straight. That means you’re running blind for half the race, forced to trust your own rhythm instead of reacting to competitors. Second, the curve itself feels awkward. It’s not as tight as the inside lanes, but it’s also not as smooth as the outermost lanes, like 8 or 9. That in-between bend can throw off your stride and balance.

Third, there’s the mental side. Middle lanes (4–6) are usually given to the fastest qualifiers, so being stuck in lane 7 is often seen as a sign you weren’t the top seed, which can weigh on confidence. But Noah can easily qualify in this heat, the big issue will be his time because that will decide what lanes he gets allotted in the 200m finals. A good time will get him a good lane, but since lane 7 can slow him down, it subsequently means a bad lane for the finals.

World Athletics puts the fastest semifinal qualifiers into the preferred middle lanes since the centre lanes give the best balance of curve and visibility. Now let’s take you back to the Diamond League final, Noah had one of the good lanes (6) while it was Letsile Tebogo in lane 7. Despite that, Noah Lyles was trailing in most of the race behind the 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, and it was only in the final few meters that he took the lead and won by two-hundredths of a second, clocking 19.74s.

A bad lane in the finals will make Lyles vs Tebogo more fun, and we might even see the 200m World champion lose his tag. Though Lane drama in the 200m that involves Lyles is not new.

When Kenny Bednarek threw subtle shade at Noah Lyles over lane assignment

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kenny Bednarek was stirring things up. The American sprinter, already an Olympic silver medalist, wasn’t happy when he saw his lane draw for the men’s 200-meter final. He landed in lane 9, all the way on the outside, while his teammate and main rival, Noah Lyles, ended up with lane 5, the sweet spot every sprinter hopes for. Bednarek jumped on X and wrote, “Never seen favoritism like this on a global scale.”

Many fans took it as a subtle shade aimed at Noah Lyles, who seemed to benefit from the setup. This was also controversial because Lyles was second in the semifinals, clocking 20.08, while Kung-Fu Kenny won his in 20.00. Bednarek protested and was shifted to lane 8. When the finals kicked off, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo grabbed gold in 19.46 seconds.

Bednarek backed his words with a 19.62 silver, and Lyles had to settle for bronze at 19.70. This time, Kenny also has lane 7 in his semifinals after qualifying with 19.98s in the heat. Who are you rooting for?